Sangaku no komakai koto is a translation from Japanese documents describing the performance of the form Sangaku. They were recorded during the Edo period. Positions were given the name kamae instead of kurai. Notably, only the first three waza are similar to our version of Sangaku. The fourth sequence is divided into two waza and our last two are missing entirely. However, through our research we have found that our waza five and six correspond to two waza in Kumitachi, a kata found in Hikita Kage-ryū. Sangaku consists of five waza: Ranko, Matsukaze, Hanaguruma, Chōtan and Tetsutei. Sangaku, which means threefold training, consists of positioning, calmness and clarity. The training is about holding positions, calming the mind and achieving clarity. Sangaku is also called Sangaku-en, where the “en” refers to the reversal of movements without stopping, in harmony and flexibility to adapt to changing situations. Sangaku expresses marobashi in a form that eliminates all unnecessary work.

After a couple of centuries of peace during the Edo period, trouble spots began to smolder again, this time largely due to interest from the world outside the island kingdom in opening up trade relations. The Tokugawa regime had partly succeeded in shielding Japan from impressions from the outside world, which had rushed ahead with industrial development and prosperity as well as military inventions that made swords and spears hopelessly out of step with modern weapons. The fighting skills of the samurai were also deplorable. Two hundred years of philosophical study of forms that they did not understand and no experience of what was told from ancient times about battles on the battlefield, had reduced the proud representatives of the warrior class to a collection of paper tigers. Generals became painfully aware of these shortcomings when the need to arm themselves became a reality in the mid-nineteenth century. To remedy the lack of practical applications with swords, Nagaoka Fusashig

From kurai you will either perform a kogeki (attack) or uke (parry or block). It is important to be able to apply them with both body and weapon at the right angle for the techniques to have the intended effect. To train them so that they become unconscious movements there is shiai-seihō, a combination of attacks and parries that are performed in a realistic way with speed and impact, with limited risk of injury. These drills were not in the original material but we believe they are of great importance in making the art of fencing practically useful. Gasshi-uchi From seiraitō no kurai, you take a step forward with either your right or left foot and strike with such timing that you always strike down on the uchidachi's sword! If you strike too early when the opponent attacks, your sword cannot come up and you will lose. However, if you strike after he has started his attack, you will "cleave" his sword from above and win. Gasshi-uchi is the technique that best illustrates the principle

Kurai in Japanese swordsmanship encompasses the physical and mental stances that the swordsman adopts to prepare for and respond to various combat scenarios. The term, also known as kamae, literally translates to “posture” or “stance,” but its meaning extends far beyond mere physical alignment. In swordsmanship, kurai serves as the foundation upon which all techniques are built. It is the starting point from which the practitioner initiates an attack, defends against an opponent, or transitions between different movements. A good kurai provides the necessary balance, stability, and structure that makes the technique effective and successful. It also allows the practitioner to maintain a strong sense of alertness, allowing them to adapt to changing circumstances and act accordingly. The first and most obvious key component is the physical stance, which typically involves a wide, stable base with the feet wide apart. The knees are slightly bent, and the weight is evenly distributed on b

From the kurai one can both make attacks and apply appropriate parries (and blocks). Robert von Sandor proclaimed that one should never meet (block) sword against sword, but sword with sword. This means that cross-blocks are inappropriate and can completely destroy one's own sword. Just like current attacks, our parries are few in number compared to several other sword schools. This is mainly because we assume the use of longer and heavier weapons. In addition, our sword art is based on a constant flow of circular or spiral movement patterns, which makes certain blocks unnecessary. Mawashi-uchi We were introduced to Mawashi-uchi in the previous chapter when we discussed attacks. The technique allows for both parries and attacks in the same movement loop. Since the attacks are of the kiri-sage type, the parries are a form of uke-nagashi, where you raise the hands holding the sword above your head in such a way that the sword blade protects against hits to the head and one side of the b